These EASY Bacon Topped Petite Turkey Meatloaf with BBQ Sauce are so moist with the addition of grated zucchini to the meatloaf mix!
We have turkey meatloaf at least once a month. I like to switch it up so I am not always making the same one, sometimes we have this Cheese Stuffed Turkey Meatloaf, and sometimes we keep it simple and make Classic Turkey Meatloaf. But if you like the smoky-sweet flavor of BBQ sauce AND the taste of bacon, then your family will love these petite turkey meatloaves with some hidden zucchini inside!
Making them smaller means the cook faster! You can use your favorite BBQ sauce, but I love making this with my homemade BBQ sauce. I made them in a petite loaf pan
but you can also make them in a muffin tin.
How To Make Moist Turkey Meatloaf
- My secret to extra moist meatloaf is adding shredded zucchini to the mix. I’ve done this before in my and meatloaf cupcakes and it turns out great and no one knows it’s in there.
- I also prefer to use 93% percent lean turkey rather than 99% which I find comes out a bit dry.
- To make this gluten-free swap the breadcrumbs for gluten-free oats
- To make this in one larger loaf pan, bake in the oven for 1 hour.
- I used a petite loaf pan, if you don’t have one use a muffin tin or just form them into mini loaves with your hands on a sheet pan.
Bacon Topped Petite Turkey Meatloaf with BBQ Sauce
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup grated zucchini, all moisture squeezed dry with paper towel
- 2 tbsp onion, minced
- 2 tbsp diced red pepper
- 1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs, you can use gluten-free crumbs too
- 1/4 cup Kansas City BBQ Sauce
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1.3 lb raw 93% lean ground turkey
- 5 slices center cut bacon, cut in half
- 2 1/2 tbsp Kansas City BBQ Sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Lightly spray the petite loaf pan with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, mix the zucchini, onion, red pepper, breadcrumbs, BBQ sauce, egg, paprika and salt. Add the turkey and combine until mixed through.
- Create 5 equal loafs and place them into the loaf pan. Place the 2 bacon halves over each loaf and top each with 1/2 tbsp additional BBQ sauce.
- Bake about 25 minutes or until cooked through.
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This recipe has become my go to meatloaf recipe. It uses about half a zucchini and half a red pepper so tonight I’m sautéing the leftovers as the side dish.Â
Oh and I always just use 1lb. of turkey because that’s the size it comes in where I live.Â
Loved this!! Happened to come across my FB feed, and I knew what I was making for dinner tonight. Easy, cooks up fast and has wonderful flavor. I will be making this again!
I noticed in the comments that someone complained about the measurements of zucchini. I prefer the fact that it says the amounts in cups! Saying 1 med zucchini is useless, because the size of zucchini’s varies greatly, especially if you are growing your own. I didn’t find this dry one bit! It’s perfect as written.
OMG! Made these tonight for dinner and they are a winner!!! I used 93% lean ground beef because we don’t groove on ground turkey, cooked the bacon ahead of time and chopped it up and mixed in and double the onion and bell pepper. I made 6 instead of 5 because I used a higher point bbq sauce and needed/wanted to reduce the points. These are definitely going to be on the menu again soon!
Amazing. Probably my favorite SkinnyTaste recipe to date. Followed as written, but only used 1lb turkey since that’s what my grocery store carries, and made 4 loafs. Will be making this again and again and again! Thank you!
Officially now part of my regular favorite dinner recipes! THANK YOU, my family and I absolutely LOVE this and it is so easy. I use jumbo muffin pan and it works great.
Overall really good. I added more onion and pepper. Used green pepper because it was cheaper. I used 93/7 but there was a good amount of grease in each portion of the loaf pan leaving the meatloaf a bit too wet. I popped it in the microwave for about 30 seconds to ensure it was cooked through and to dry it out a bit. I think the leftovers will be even better. I may take this recipe and use in a meatloaf pan where the fat can drain offÂ
As written  this recipe is laughable:  3/4 C grated zucchini (moisture squeezed out),  2 Tbl onion, 2 Tbl diced red pepper–REALLY?  And then people complain that the recipe is TOO DRY?
Try this: Â shred a WHOLE zucchini, a WHOLE onion, a WHOLE red pepper and add to 1 pound (not 1.3!) ground turkey. Â Do NOT squeeze moisture out of zucchini. Â Mix everything together and bake, either petite or as whole meatloaf. Â
GREAT!
I do not like a recipe that say’s 1 zucchini or 1 onion. The size of the zucchini or onion can vary greatly. I can have a zucchini that is 3/4 cup or 2 cups! So thanks Gina for the measurements. If you like more of an ingredient go for it but these measurements make a good result.
No the recipe as written is not laughable at all. Zucchinis, onions, peppers all come in different sizes and weights, especially if you use your own garden grown. The recipe as written is much more accurate than what you are suggesting.
Yummy and sophisticated looking!
About how many ounces of meat is in each loaf? I am making a 1 1/2 today and plan on dividing the meat into jumbo muffin liners and would like to keep the portions similar. I was think 4-5 ounces??
Never mind…..I was able to calculate the math on my own based on your total amount and number of servings. Â Duh…..
I am going to make this tonight. One comment though…. why not write recipes in 1 lb. increments- the way the majority of ground turkey is sold?? So I have a pound of ground turkey and now need to buy another 1/3 lb more….
It’s an awkward quantity!
Sorry, it’s the way it’s sold by me.
Aldi sells the turkey this way prepackaged
I’ve seen other Skinnytaste recipes written as 1.3 lbs and it’s a little frustrating. I’d feel a little silly asking at the meat counter for “1.3 lbs” or buying a one pound package and asking for “.3 lbs”. I usually skip the recipes with 1.3 lbs in the ingredients because I’m not sure how to adjust for only 1 lb, but I want to try this one.
I usually buy it that way, its standard with some brands but look at my turkey meatloaf with zucchini which uses 1 lb and match the amounts
I just found your Turkey Meatloaf with BBQ sauce and bacon and I am salivating as I read it! My only question is regarding the pan. I will have to purchase one…I see many different sizes. What size are the pans your recipe fits? It is hard to tell by the photo if yours is an 8 pan capacity or more ……I am on WW so “size does matter” 🙂